Albanian police arrest protesters after eggs thrown at MPs’ cars

Since late May, protests have been held against the construction of a luxury hotel backed by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner in a nature reserve in Zvernec, on Albania's southwestern coast.

Dozens gathered outside parliament ahead of a plenary session on Tuesday morning to demand the repeal of a law allowing luxury hotels to be built in protected natural areas.

The protesters threw dozens of eggs at MPs’ cars and tried to break through a police cordon separating them from the vehicles, an AFP journalist witnessed.

Videos posted on social media showed at least two men being brought to the ground, with several police officers seen violently handcuffing them.

Albanian rights defender Endri Shabani said in a television interview that he had "opened an investigation into the behaviour of the police".

"The right to protest is a constitutional right and the police behaved in a disproportionate manner towards the protesters," he added.

By mid-afternoon, dozens of protesters had gathered outside Tirana police headquarters to demand the detainees’ release and all six were freed shortly after 5:00 pm.

The planned resort was first unveiled in 2024, but the latest wave of protests began after barbed-wire fencing and bulldozers appeared on its beaches in late May.

Opposition to the project has become a flashpoint for anger over perceived corruption, with protesters calling for Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down over what they describe as a lack of transparency.